What’s one thing almost every college student has? A crippling coffee addiction. Even if you don’t identify yourself as a coffee addict, most students enjoy a mocha or latte as a pick-me-up during a late night study session or to help wake up for those 8:30 a.m. classes. Point is, college campuses need to have coffee accessible to students. And Dickinson does not.

As recently as last year, Dickinson College had two places on campus to get hand-crafted beverages: the Biblio Cafe and Union Station (also known as the SNAR). With the promise of  the addition of a Denim Coffee at the previously-empty Quarry this year, I was excited to use my extra Any 20 swipes on mochas and a pastry every now and then. But when I showed up on campus, I was told that both Biblio and SNAR were closed due to lack of staffing and would be opened again “in two weeks.”

Well Dickinson, those two weeks have passed and where’s the coffee? I understand there is a worker shortage, but maybe if Dickinson used some of that almost 8,000 dollar fee for dining options they charge each student to pay their workers above 10 dollars an hour, we wouldn’t be in this position. Yes, I know there’s drip coffee at the Caf and SNAR, but that isn’t satisfactory for those of us who would like an espresso shot or handcrafted drink without paying 5 dollars for it off campus. If I’m paying up to 8,000 dollars a year for dining, I’d like to actually use that money, not end the week with six or more extra meal swipes because I decided to make some meals in my dorm to avoid the bad dining hall options. 

If you break it down, each meal swipe equates to over 13 dollars – I’d like to actually use those swipes and that tuition money on food provided by Dickinson. And with no open date released for Denim at the Quarry and no return time stated for either the Biblio or SNAR cafes, I’m left to wonder: who decided to deprive college students of coffee?